THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 12, 1995 TAG: 9502100196
SECTION: CHESAPEAKE CLIPPER PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Opinion
SOURCE: BY JUDITH KONICKI
LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
John Pruitt, the editor of the Suffolk Sun wrote that the only opposition to the rezoning and race track proposed for Pughsville were the ``Rip Van Winkle-ites'' of Jolliff Woods (The Clipper, Feb. 5). His suggestions were that Jolliff Woods residents only awoke to the realities after the fact and that they are the only ones opposing this issue.
Actually, the group opposing this rezoning and race track comprises residents of Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth. The opposition is to the proposed and potential usage of this land; to the way the Suffolk City Council disregarded the opinions of their own fire department, police department, planning commission and their own citizens; and to the process by which this issue was passed through City Council:
Prior to Nov. 13, Upton Arnette Associates submitted a request for rezoning land west of Interstate-664 off Portsmouth Boulevard/Nansemond Parkway to M-2, and requested a conditional use permit for a race track.
On Nov. 13, the requests were withdrawn.
On Dec. 20, the city brought the requests back before the council and waived the ``rollback'' taxes, which have been required of every other industrial park in Suffolk.
On Jan. 4, a large number of Suffolk residents and a number of Chesapeake residents went before the Suffolk City Council to present their opposition to the proposed rezoning and race track.
Since Jan. 4, an organization has been formed to fight the rezoning and race track. The organization ``Western Branch and Suffolk Citizens Against the Racetrack'' has joined the people of Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth in a concerted effort to stop this issue before it progresses further and to force Suffolk to abide by the laws that are their responsibility to enforce. Hence, a lawsuit was filed by the people against the City of Suffolk on Feb. 2.
The facts and merits of the situation are:
The Suffolk Planning Commission split 6-6 on approving/denying the conditional use permit. Suffolk laws require an automatic denial of the permit.
The Suffolk Fire Department is against this project. The location of the proposed race track and the volume of cars and people will impede the residents of Pughsville, Driver and the other areas surrounding the zone from receiving emergency support. The roads leading into and out of the area are two-lane farm roads with three-foot deep ditches on each side.
The Suffolk Police Department was against this proposal and has the potential inability of maintaining order and enforcing drunken-driving laws.
The Suffolk City Council's waiving of ``rollback'' taxes, which has never been done before, is discriminatory toward all other industrial pars in Suffolk who have paid ``rollback'' taxes.
The Suffolk City Council agreed to build sewer, water, lights and internal roads from Shoulder Hill Road to the race track. This will put an undue tax burden on the residents of Suffolk.
The area was rezoned from Agricultural and Low-Density Residential to Heavy Industry (M-2, approximately 684 acres) and Business (B-2, approximately 70 acres for the race track), which, according to Suffolk's own definition of M-2, would allow industries ranging from bulk storage to paper mills to ammunition manufacturing.
The seven-mile impact zone of the proposed industrial park will affect approximately 30 percent of the total population of Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth.
The area rezoned is adjacent to the Great Dismal Swamp (a protected resource) and there have been no environmental impact studies conducted.
The area rezoned is designated as a Resource Management Area under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act, there have been no studies regarding the effects of run off and/or ground water contamination, which could be catastrophic to Suffolk, Chesapeake and Portsmouth, each of whom depends on this water supply.
These are a few of the facts surrounding this issue. Our citizens' group is not opposed to Suffolk's desire for growth and economic stability. What we do object to is the way City Council went about approving this issue and the type of industry it is proposing.
As stated earlier, Citizens Against the Racetrack has initiated a lawsuit to stop this insanity. While we have not yet received a response from Suffolk, we feel confident that the many people whose lives would be affected by this seemingly harmful growth will continue to come forward in opposition. MEMO: Ms. Konicki, a Chesapeake resident, is public relations chairperson for
Western Branch and Suffolk Citizens Against the Racetrack. by CNB